The highest mountain in the world from the foot. What is the highest mountain in the world? The highest mountains in the world by continent. Descriptions of the seven highest peaks of the world by parts of the world

Since school, many of us know and remember that the most high mountain on the planet is Everest. However, there are scientists who are trying to refute this thesis. The fact is that mountains are measured in various ways, and depending on the method that was chosen for the measurement, noteworthy results are obtained. Do you know the name of the highest mountain in the world underwater? Many will not be able to answer this question, but there is a mountain on the planet called Mauna Kea and its height is 1300 meters more than the well-known Everest.

An insidious volcano or a harmless mountain?

In fact, Mauna Kea is an inactive volcano classified as a shield volcano. In the photos available on the Internet, there are no clearly visible boundaries of the crater, most often you can just see a large cauldron. This type of volcano is associated with repeated eruptions of hot liquid melt. rocks. The surrounding area is covered by the flow of erupting magma in such a way that slightly sloping slopes are formed.

The peak of activity of the volcano, which appeared a million years ago, ended 250 thousand years ago. According to researchers, awakening extinct volcano currently unlikely.

Shield types of volcanoes go through several stages:

• Doshitovoy begins with the emergence of a hot spot;
• During the shield stage, the volcano is most active;
• At the post-shield stage, the formation of the form is completed. At this time, it is impossible to predict the behavior of the volcano;
• The final step is inaction.

Mauna Kea, which is part of the Hawaiian Islands, is today considered the highest mountain on the planet, despite the fact that most of it is located under water. The mountain is remarkable for tourists with its snow cap, which is absolutely not typical for tropical climate. This is the reason for its name, meaning "White Mountain".

world observatory

Due to its proximity to the equator, Hawaii is considered perfect place where astronomical observations can be made. Therefore, no one is surprised by the fact that Mauna Kea is real center on the study of astronomical objects that emit their own or reflected light. Since the mountain is quite far from the city, it is possible to achieve perfect clarity of atmospheres here.

Currently, thirteen telescopes of various states are installed on the top of Mauna Kea. The most important are the Hawaiian Keck Observatory, the US National Space Infrared Space Telescopes and Subaru's 8.2-meter optical telescope. You can watch the work of the observatories online: by connecting to a webcam.

In addition to the fact that Mauna Kea amazes scientists with its height, it also leads in terms of the mark at which telescopes are assembled. The instruments are located at a height exceeding 40 percent of the atmospheric layer, due to which relative dryness is achieved. The absence of clouds at this altitude allows for year-round stargazing.

Flora and fauna

There are three nature reserves on the giant mountain. The flora of the peak is represented by perennial low-growing herbs that are not afraid of low temperature conditions And strong winds inherent in the Alpine belt. In the Reserve, located on the top of Mauna Kea, they watch the endangered vagrant predator - the wolf spider, which lives at an altitude of 4 thousand meters. Between the stones, heated by the sun's rays, you can see butterflies "Forest Shawl" hiding from the cold.

On the second layer there is a reserve with an area of ​​21,000 hectares, under the protection of which there is Sophora aureus - endemic Hawaiian archipelago. The Europeans, who settled the island in the 18th century, caused a significant reduction in the population of leguminous plants. Currently, only 10% of the trees remain.

At the bottom of the mountain there is a reserve with endangered species of plants and animals. The ecological system was severely affected by the importation of cattle and the clearing of land for planting sugar cane. In order to preserve the endangered flora, it was decided to eradicate large-horned animals from the island.

Rest

Every year, more than 100,000 people from all over the world come to admire the beauties of Mauna Kea. You can get to the top of the mountain on powerful off-road vehicles. The main attraction of the giant mountain is the observatory.

In winter, tourists can go skiing, although the routes at the very top are not suitable for such leisure activities due to the high wind speed, which reaches 100 kilometers per hour.

Ararat is considered perhaps the most famous symbol of Armenia and is depicted on its coat of arms, although today the mountain is located in Turkey. Yerevan residents say that it is not possible to see Masis and Sis (both peaks of Mount Ararat) so often - they are usually covered by clouds. Ararat (tour. Agri dagi - "Mountain of pain") - the highest mountain in the world according to relative altitude(distance greater mountain from the foot to the top is 4365 m), the highest point of the Armenian Highlands and Turkey. Ararat is active volcano, its last eruption was recorded in 1840. The mountain consists of two mountains that have merged with their bases: Masis and Sis, which are also called Big and Small Ararat.

The most popular answer is Mount Everest. Indeed, 8848 meters above sea level, there is no higher. But Everest is not visible from any sea. The sea is far away, but the earth is round. We are, first of all, attracted by the spectacle, the impression from it. And the mountain makes the greatest impression when you observe its true size from the foot to the top.

It is the true sizes of the giants that I propose to compare, those that are visible to the observer. Seamounts don't count. It is difficult to look at the mountain from under the water - it is too deep to dive and it is hard to see. The water is not as clear as the pure mountain air.

To compare the most high mountains, they must first be measured. As a measuring tool, we will use a wonderful open service provided by the company Google Inc. - Google Maps. We will determine the height above sea level by horizontal lines, they are drawn through 20 meters. Distance measurement accuracy is an order of magnitude higher. We have more than enough.

Let's start with Everest.

Virtually leave from base camp, let's go to the very foot of Everest, to a height of 5360 m above sea level and set a reference point here. Let's draw a blue line from it to the top. The horizontal projection of this line is 6420, the elevation difference is 3488 meters. Using the advice of Pythagoras, we calculate the distance at which the peak is visible - approximately 7300 meters.

Let's move to the Chinese side and measure the East face of Everest using the yellow line. To virtually see the peak, which is about 5400 m, the virtual head will have to be lifted higher, almost 40 °. But the drop along this wall will be less - only 3348 meters.

Here are our constructions on Google map:

For clarity, let's transfer our lines to the chart, where the vertical and horizontal scales are the same. We connect the lower points, paint the resulting triangle in red and get a very visual section of Everest. Note that the abscissa axis in our diagram corresponds to the level of the world ocean:

Everest soars high above the sea!

Dhaulagiri

As you know, Everest became the highest mountain on the planet only in 1852. Until 1832, Dhaulagiri was considered such. Let's check it out for a reason.

We will measure the mountain from the Italian base camp, located under the western wall at an altitude of 3660 m.

That's bad luck ... Dhaulagiri at the same scale as Everest does not fit into the window of the same size!

So. The distance from the Italian Base Camp in a straight line inclined at about 38° to the top of Dhaulagiri is about 6960 meters. Elevation difference - 4637. More than a kilometer more than Everest. The east side is even more grandiose. Green Line connects Dhaulagiri peak and Larjung.

This village is unique. There is no other place on the planet Earth where, with his head up to the sky, the observer would see the firmament of the earth so high above him. The sight is mesmerizing and frightening at the same time. The top of the mountain is somewhere beyond reality. A giant glacier from an insane height puts pressure on the psyche. If it breaks, millions of tons will fall right here, block the Kaligandaki and then be the Lower Mustang Sea. God forbid, of course!

Let's transfer the new data to the diagram, connect the points and paint the section in gray:

It can be seen that Dhaulagiri is located below Everest, but clearly larger than it. For clarity, let's combine the initial measurement points and remove all unnecessary. Let's see the next picture.

Which mountain is higher?

In exactly the same way, Everest lags behind other entirely Nepalese eight-thousanders - Manaslu (8156) and Annapurna (8091). Like Dhaulagiri, each of them has a wall, with a height difference exceeding any Everest.

But the father-king, although he did not come out the tallest of all, sits with the throne above his vassals.

Which mountain is the highest in the world? It depends on how you measure them. There are two mountains that claim to be the highest in the world. The summit of Mount Everest is higher above sea level than the summit of any other mountain, but Mauna Kea is the highest when measured from base to summit. Mauna Kea, a dormant volcano in Hawaii, is the tallest mountain in the world when measured from its base, deep in pacific ocean, to the top. The discussion of the question of height rests on the fact that most of Mauna Kea in Hawaii is under water and therefore measuring from the aforementioned sea level doesn't do justice to the sheer size.

The summit of Mauna Kea is 4,205 meters above sea level, but it extends approximately 6,000 meters below the surface of the water. Therefore, the total height is 10,210 meters, which is almost one and a half kilometers more than Mount Everest, according to the United States Geological Survey (USGS). Thus, it falls into the list of the highest mountains in the world.


In Hawaiian, Mauna Kea means "White Mountain" and its snowy peak attracts skiers and snowboarders. Its lower slopes are popular areas for hunting, hiking, sightseeing and bird watching.


The location near the equator makes Mauna Kea an excellent astronomical observation site. Low humidity and clear skies make weather near the top of the volcano almost ideal for many of the world's leading space observatories. The mountain's distance from city lights and the island's stark illumination also help provide the atmospheric clarity that telescopes require.

Mauna Kea is currently home to 13 telescopes, including the NASA Infrared Telescopes, Caltech Observatory and Japan's Subaru Telescope, as well as the Keck Interferometer Telescope, the largest telescope with a single mirror in the world. The Mauna Kea Center webcams allow online viewers to witness these stellar observatories in action.


The summit of Mauna Kea holds another record. In addition to being the top of the highest mountain in the world, it is also home to the largest astronomical observatory in the world. This observatory is located above 40% of the Earth's atmosphere. The atmosphere at the top of the mountain is extremely dry and almost free of clouds. This makes it an ideal location for an observatory. This is one of the few places where you can see snow in the Hawaiian area - the height is high enough and cold enough to accumulate snow.


In Hawaiian mythology, the peaks of the island of Hawaii are sacred, and Mauna Kea is one of the most sacred. ancient law allowed only high-ranking tribal leaders to visit this peak. The ancient Hawaiians living on the slopes of Mauna Kea relied on its extensive forests for food and quarried the basalt from its slopes to make tools. IN last years concern about the vulnerability of the native species led to court cases that forced the Department of Land and Natural resources destroy all wild species on the mountain.